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Korrin’s chest heaves, wings twitching with nerves. Then his gaze falls on me, and I see that same heartbreak from our first near-execution. He lifts the sword over my head. The crowd leans in, breathless. I can’t stop trembling. My lips shape his name in a silent plea.

He hesitates, tears rolling down his cheeks. Time stretches, tension thick as pitch. The Alpha snarls from the dais, lightning crackling around his staff. “End her!” he roars. “Now!”

Korrin’s face contorts in agony. He raises the blade higher. My own tears blur everything. The entire clan leans forward, a monstrous hush. I brace myself, half expecting the blow to land.Either he kills me, or the clan kills us both.My mind reels with final acceptance:I love you, Korrin.

Suddenly, at the last second, he roars, twisting the blade away from me. “I can’t!” he bellows, voice breaking. The clanexplodes in fury. Gargoyles leap from their seats, roaring curses. My breath seizes.He refused again.Relief and terror crash over me.

The Alpha snarls, power flaring in a swirling red glow around him. Varzak lunges from the dais, wings beating. “Then die together,” he snarls, brandishing a spear. The crowd surges, gargoyles dropping into the ring, claws bared. My chain rattles as I scramble to Korrin, tears soaking my face.

He grabs my shoulder, pulling me behind him. The sword trembles in his grip. “Elyria,” he gasps, pressing his forehead to mine in that split second of chaos. “I’m sorry. I can’t— I won’t?—”

“We stand together,” I whisper, voice shaking with love and dread. “One last time.”

He nods, tears shining. We turn as the first wave of gargoyles converges. Swords glint, claws slash. The Alpha’s roar echoes in the cavern, promising slaughter. We brace, hopelessly outnumbered. My wrists are shackled, the chain fixed to the floor, limiting my range. He can fight, but we can’t outrun them all.We’re truly doomed.My heart clenches:At least we’re together.

Korrin brandishes the sword. He slashes at the nearest gargoyle, a savage blow that forces them back. Another tries to divebomb from above, but Korrin spins, wincing as his wounded side bleeds anew. My chain tugs me, forcing me to remain within a few steps. I huddle close to him, useless in these shackles. A gargoyle leaps in from behind, fangs bared. I shriek, stumbling aside. Korrin whirls, parrying with a grunt, the ring of steel on steel filling my ears.

We can’t last. More gargoyles close in, spurred by the Alpha’s wrath. My heart twists with raw despair.We’ll die here.Yet a numb calm settles.Better this, fighting together, than me executed by his blade.The tears on my cheeks burn.I love you, Korrin, even in death.

A gargoyle lunges at me, ignoring Korrin’s slash. My chain prevents me from dodging far. He rakes his claws across my arm, tearing cloth and skin. Pain flares, a ragged scream escaping my throat. In that instant, my magic flutters, responding to mortal terror. I feel a spark of white heat swirl inside me. But it flickers, no more stable than before.If only I could unleash it fully.My eyes clench shut, tears and blood mingling.

Korrin roars, cleaving the attacker’s wing. The gargoyle collapses, shrieking. Another pair move in, unstoppable. The crowd roars for blood, the Alpha’s laughter cold above us. My vision dims.All is lost.I sag, one hand pressed to the fresh wound. My magic flickers and fails.I can’t harness it.Korrin stands over me, shielded by savage defiance, but he’s battered, bleeding from multiple gashes. This is the end.

He tries one final surge, blade raised, but a gargoyle from behind slams a club into his knee. He buckles with a cry, losing his grip on the sword. Another cracks him across the back, and he collapses, chest heaving. I scream his name, tears blinding me. The chain yanks me down as well.

The Alpha steps forward, staff crackling with arcane energy. The ring around us hushes, gargoyles pulling back to let their leader deliver the final blow. My entire body trembles with heartbreak, eyes locked on Korrin’s battered form.We’re about to die.The alpha sneers, staff raised, red lightning dancing. Korrin tries to push upright, but Varzak’s foot slams him back to the floor.

Hot tears streak my face. I lurch forward on my knees, ignoring my shackled wrists. “Korrin,” I sob. He meets my gaze, lips mouthing an apology. Everything slows, a hush in my ears except for the rapid thunder of my heart. The alpha aims the staff at him, raw hate etched on obsidian features.

No. I won’t watch him die.My chest constricts, rage and desperation surging. The leftover flicker of magic in my veins sparks wildly, responding to my raw emotion. I grit my teeth.I can’t let them kill him.My limbs quake as I fight to channel that swirling power. Sparks crackle around my fingers, swirling silver light that reflects off my tears. The collar chain vibrates ominously, but I force the energy forward.I must try again.

The alpha’s staff glows, ready to unleash a killing bolt. My mind screams:Now or never.I let out a raw shriek, pouring everything into that flicker. Pain explodes in my chest, the collar heating white-hot. A wave of silver flame bursts from my hands, colliding with the alpha’s red lightning in a flash of blinding brilliance. The entire arena gasps.

Agony rips through me as the collar resists my power. My vision whites out. But I sense the alpha’s staff sputtering under the collision, the recoil forcing him to stagger. The crowd roars in confusion. My magic surges beyond my control, ripping free in a blazing tide that scalds the ring’s floor.A High Purna’s spark.Gargoyles recoil from the searing wave. Varzak snarls, flinging Korrin aside to avoid the arcs of silver-white energy.

I collapse, screaming, as the collar sears into my flesh, choking the magic’s release. Sparks dance across my body, but the runes on the collar hamper me from unleashing full devastation. My arms quake, shoulders burning as the wave dissipates, leaving only a haze of scorched stone and panicked gargoyles. I pant, tears streaming, vision dimming.I can’t sustain it.The collar holds strong, leaving me half burned, half broken.

Elders rush to the alpha, who regains his balance. His eyes glow with fury, staff raised again. The crowd seethes. Korrin lies near the dais, struggling to move. My body is spent, magic drained.We’ve delayed doom by seconds.The alpha brandishes the staff, a killing blow aimed at me for sure. My chainhangs, partially melted but still intact, the collar fusing with my scorched neck. I can’t even raise my arms.

Time slows as the alpha roars, summoning a final storm of red lightning. My mind shrieks:This is it.I glance at Korrin, our gazes locking one last time, love shining in the heartbreak. We can’t save each other.

14

KORRIN

I’m on my knees, chest pounding, the ring of gargoyles looming around me like a wall of stone. The Alpha stands above, obsidian skin rippling with arcane fury, staff crackling with crimson lightning. The entire arena reeks of sweat and raw terror, and I taste blood in the back of my throat. Elyria lies collapsed a dozen paces away, arms shackled, her chain half-melted but still pinning her to the floor. She’s gasping, tears staining her ash-covered cheeks. It’s as if every flicker of hope has been torn from us—yet we’re both still breathing.

The clan roars for my blood, for her blood, for some savage display of final loyalty. My battered wings throb with each breath, a constant reminder of how close I am to complete ruin. I’ve refused the Alpha’s command not just once but more, failing to execute her. The monstrous hush that fell after her last surge of magic has receded, replaced by a deafening clamor. Gargoyles circle the arena tiers, stamping and jeering. My heart flutters with raw panic.We can’t fight them all.

I swallow, forcing myself to move. My side aches fiercely where a blade sliced through earlier. The wound drips a sluggish trickle of blood, spattering against the polished stone. I lookat Elyria—my reason for defying everything I ever was. She’s trembling, half-conscious, the collar scorched into her neck. My gut twists with rage.I can’t let this be our end.She tries to lift her head, meeting my gaze through strands of tangled hair. In her eyes, I see heartbreak and an unspoken apology—she couldn’t break free. And I see love, shining through agony. That flicker gives me the strength to stand.

I push up on shaking legs. My wings sag, half-spread. Gargoyles hiss at me from all sides, brandishing weapons.I can do nothing alone.The Alpha’s staff cracks the air with a discharge of lightning, snapping me back to the present. He stands tall, horns curving, wings partially fanned to display his dominance.

“You think to defy me again?” he growls, voice echoing. A hush descends. Torches flare along the arena walls, illuminating the throng of onlookers. My mouth tastes of dust and despair, but I gather what remains of my spirit.

“Better defiance than a life spent murdering the innocent,” I say, voice cracked but resolute. My eyes flick to Elyria, still pinned by her half-melted chain.No more. I won’t harm her to save myself.

The Alpha’s obsidian lips peel back in a snarl, revealing fangs. “Then you choose death for both of you.” His staff hums with lethal energy. “No more chances, Korrin. You were our prized executioner, and you spat on our laws. This purna threatens our clan’s very survival.”